


gleams of sunshine

by boudour



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Infinity War, Carol & Sif crash the Thanos party aboard the Asgardian refugee ship, Character Death Fix, Except Loki, Fix-It, Gen, Heimdall (Marvel) Lives, Loki (Marvel) Lives, No one has any chill, POV Loki (Marvel), Secondary Characters: Thor - Sif - Carol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 20:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19069648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boudour/pseuds/boudour
Summary: I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again.Loki keeps his promise (with some outside help).





	gleams of sunshine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Unforgotten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unforgotten/gifts).



Damn the Hulk for failing to distract Thanos long enough. Damn Heimdall for regaining control of his magic too late to send _Thor_ to safety instead of the green monster.

 _But mostly damn him,_ damn _him for drawing Thanos to them._

Loki is focusing on the spell infusing the fetters that bind Thor but for every layer he unravels two more seem to coalesce out of thin air. Despair rises in his gorge, threatening to choke him— _they’re running out of_ time _—_ and he can think of no trick, no clever strategies to save his brother. So he forgoes all subtlety, gathers his magic, and sends it out in raw pulses to batter against the spell.

The pain as his unfiltered magic slams against the Wizard’s casting is excruciating. The metal shrieks against the onslaught—but holds firm. Loki tries to focus despite the red hot pressure in his mind and channels more magic, bites his lip against the scream clawing at his throat. Fire courses through his veins, his vision darkens. His mother’s words echo in his mind, cautioning him against using his magic so _but if he could just free Thor—_

The tendrils of his magic scrabble against the metal like so many fingers clawing at a wall until they’re reduced to bloody stumps.

It’s hopeless. 

In the end, his word will have been as good as his life: worthless.

The red haze that clouds his eyes hides Thor from his view, he cannot even summon the breath to say—

A burst of gold floods his vision.

 

“Loki!”

He comes to lying face down on the ground, his body racked with pain.

“Loki!”

Thor’s voice. Loki climbs disjointedly to his feet, spares a look at the new arrival—a blur wielding golden blasts against Thanos and his henchmen—and staggers towards Thor.

“Loki. Loki, _go,_ ” Thor says.

Loki glimpses a form wielding golden blasts against Thanos and his lieutenants. He doesn’t waste time figuring out more and stumbles towards Thor, letting the Jotun blue sing through his veins as he presses his hands to the metal. It freezes and creaks beneath his touch and Loki can feel the spell slowly weakening as its anchor does. The sounds of fighting reach his ear but he can’t make himself look away from Thor, whose lips are turning blue. _Gods, just a little bit more._ Thor is shuddering now but his gaze is steady as he looks at Loki, looks at him like he _trusts_ him, still.

“Don’t move,” Loki says haltingly, and turns his hands into sharp blades of ice. He hacks at the frozen fetters with all his strength but it takes _too long, too long_. Thor is unconscious now and Loki doesn’t dare stop to ascertain himself that he’s still breathing, pours all his fear and desperation into his efforts instead. With a resounding crack the metal, and the spell, finally shatter and Loki catches Thor’s slumping figure, arms holding him tight, and shudders with relief as he feels Thor’s even breaths ghosting against the skin of his neck.

The sight that greets his eyes as he looks at the fighting is surreal. A single woman stands, weaponless, hopelessly surrounded by Thanos and two of his minions. From further away, he can hear the sound of blades clashing.

“Need a time-out?” the suicidal fool says, and raises her eyebrows challengingly at Thanos. 

He lunges at her and she raises her fists, lightning-quick, and fires a golden blast at him that sends him crashing backwards. He doesn’t get back up. After a frozen heartbeat, his lieutenants suddenly move all at once, and so does Loki. 

The Wizard flicks his fingers and sends dozens of scraps of metal sharpened to a wicked point hurtling towards the madwoman while the Oaf raises his axe with a roar. 

Loki lunges for the fallen Tesseract, grabs it and rolls sideways just in time to avoid the Oaf’s carcass, studded with gleaming knives of metal. He’s trying to scramble to his feet when above him, someone tuts chidingly. Loki raises his eyes to meet the Wizard’s and the spear aimed at his head. He closes his eyes as the spear flies—and slams into thin air.

Loki doesn’t give the Wizard the time to boggle at the illusion before he buries his knife in his back. But the Wizard doesn’t fall. Eerily, he turns towards him, seemingly taking no note of the knife burrowed in his heart.

“It always does to have a spare,” he says, a slow smirk forming on his face, and slipping sideways before tilting to the floor as his severed head topples from his body. Sif viciously plunges her blade in his head for good measure.

“Don’t have a spare for this one, do you?” she says.

Loki snaps his mouth shut with a click.

“Get Heimdall,” she says as she drapes Thor’s arm over her shoulders, “Our ship’s this way,” she adds with a tilt of her chin, pointing towards Thanos.

He’s using the Glove to ward off the bursts of gold from the fists of Sif’s ally and inching his way ever closer.

“How far exactly to the ship?” Loki asks her, and is glad to see understanding spread over Sif’s face.

“Two hundred feet,” she says decisively.

“Grab my arm.”

“Danvers!” she calls, and holds out a hand to her.

Danvers lunges for it as Loki pours the last of his magic into the Tesseract, and pulls them away.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for not making the wordcount, Unforgotten! (writing an action scene... did not come easy to me T_T)  
> I deserve all the ShAmE ;D but I really need to sleep rn. I'll add a short coda to make up for this asap!
> 
> Title from Jane Eyre: "Even for me life had its gleams of sunshine."


End file.
